A man allegedly murdered his two-year-old daughter after she interrupted while he was playing a video game.
Police have charged 31-year-old Michael Sanders from Watuaga, Texas, with murder over the toddler’s death, alleging he killed his daughter Ellie on December 12, 2015.
Ellie’s mother Cassie Wright was out of the house, attending an art show. When Wright returned home at about 8:30pm Sanders told her their daughter was sleeping.
Police spokesman Sgt. Jason Babcock, told the Star Telegram, Wright “never saw her”.
It was not until thirty minutes after Wright arrived home, when Ellie’s five-year-old brother failed to wake his sister, emergency services were called.
“He tried to wake her up and she wouldn’t wake up. He went in there and told [his parents] that she was sleeping and wouldn’t wake up,” Babcock said.
Ellie was rushed to North Hills Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 10:10 pm.
According to the affidavit, doctors found bruising all over Ellie’s body, including around her eyes. It also stated she had bite marks that could have come from an adult human. Her official cause of death was asphyxiation, which police say occurred when Sanders put his hand over her mouth.
Babcock told The Star Telegram Sanders acted in a “fit of rage”.
“He’s very involved in computer gaming,” he said.”That’s something he did constantly. She may have interrupted him somehow. His day may have been interrupted.”
Sanders claimed his daughter had been fine 30 minutes before his wife came home. He said she had been watching TV and laughing. Sanders also claimed he changed Ellie’s nappy around that time, but was unaware of what could have caused her injuries.
He was arrested on April 15, after the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office ruled Ellie’s death a murder.
Sanders is charged with capital murder and his bail has been set at $1 million.
Top Comments
How disgraceful. What is happening to people when a f*cken video game is worth killing his own baby daughter........
Poor little darling girl. So sorry for the mother and brother, RIP Ellie xxx
In the US men are 26 times more likely to commit murder compared to women. This mans face reminds me of the look most boys give when they are caught or told off when they do something bad. Very different to girls, girls just lump it and most of the time admit to wrongdoing. Boys, totally different story, they blame everyone else or get sulky. It makes you almost not want to tell boys off for wrongdoing, as they tend to gaslight you so often.
RIP Ellie. Hopefully we will eventually make a change and men's violence will stop. I know so many people that have been affected by men's violence.
Yes, I know women also commit violence and that is wrong etc but that does not take away the fact male violence is often directed at people smaller and weaker than them which makes it all the more dangerous. And yes women hurt kids too, no question about that but that is far more often a mental health problem and/or under stress from giving birth and/or stress from a DV relationship - something no one ever talks about.